If you’re a show goer (or were, before we all went into lockdown), chances are that you’ve heard of Banks Arcade. The Auckland outfit have been doing the rounds on support slots recently for Stray From The Path, Counterparts and Silverstein, securing a name for themselves as they build up a loyal following. Having recently completed a permanent voyage from Auckland to Melbourne, Banks Arcade have premiered their new single ‘Sick’, taken from their upcoming EP Fever Dreams which drops in May.
We asked the gang to put together some essential reading for you before you listen to the track.
1. ‘Sick’ wasn’t going to be on the EP at all.
Joshua flew over to New Zealand intending to record three songs for a mini EP, but we managed to finish all of them in the first day so we decided to add a few extra tracks. The additional tracks that were recorded became the singles off the EP.
2. The song was tracked in 4 locations across 2 countries.
2019 was a crazy year for Banks Arcade. The old line up moved over to Melbourne and faced a lot of adversity throughout the year. After being reduced to two members (Jason and Joshua), we decided to call on some friends to help them track out all of the songs, resulting in the songs being put together all over the place. Special shoutout to Kerry from Wellington prog band Claemus (we are huge fans and you should be too) who helped us out tracking bass.
3. Our good friend James Feekes (drummer) hadn’t heard the song until 15 minutes before recording it.
We cannot sing the praises of this man enough. He’s an amazing dude and one of the best drummers in New Zealand. We flew him up to Auckland with little to no knowledge of the songs and he just wrote them out and winged it on the day. It was incredible to watch.
4. The video took less than 2 days to film.
This video was absolute madness. Kenny had been depriving himself of food, Joshua was a week out from an MMA fight, and there was a lot that still wasn’t sorted out the day before shoot time. We always dream big and sometimes it just works. Snakes, dope actors, quality camera work and an amazing team of people to help with all the essentials. This seems like a lot to ask from a very tight budget, but thanks to our amazing team we made it happen. Special thanks to Connor Pritchard for his amazing camera work!
5. ‘Sick’ is about overcoming toxic relationships.
Everyone has to deal with them, and it sucks when you find out people act one way to your face and another behind your back. ‘Sick’ also just deals with general feelings of not fitting in and being isolated (surely everyone related to this at the moment?) It gives a big middle finger to people that won’t front up and say how they feel, and try to belittle others instead of dealing with their own insecurities.
Listen to ‘Sick’ below.
